Below we noted the provision in the 2011 spending bill that prohibited funding for White House positions known in political parlance as “Czars,” specifically: Director, White House Office of Health Reform; Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change; Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury assigned to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry and Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy; the White House Director of Urban Affairs.

In signing H.R. 1473, the President issued a signing statement:

Section 2262 of the Act would prohibit the use of funds for several positions that involve providing advice directly to the President.  The President has well-established authority to supervise and oversee the executive branch, and to obtain advice in furtherance of this supervisory authority.  The President also has the prerogative to obtain advice that will assist him in carrying out his constitutional responsibilities, and do so not only from executive branch officials and employees outside the White House, but also from advisers within it.
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Legislative efforts that significantly impede the President’s ability to exercise his supervisory and coordinating authorities or to obtain the views of the appropriate senior advisers violate the separation of powers by undermining the President’s ability to exercise his constitutional responsibilities and take care that the laws be faithfully executed.  Therefore, the executive branch will construe section 2262 not to abrogate these Presidential prerogatives.

If we remember our U.S. Constitution correctly, it’s Congress that appropriates or, as the case is here, chooses not to appropriate.

The President’s signing statement has elicited a slew of criticism from commentators from across the political spectrum. Glenn Greenwald, a left-leaning legal analyst at Salon, notes explicit statements that Obama made at a 2008 campaign speech disavowing signing statements:

[The] vow he made in that campaign speech was unambiguous: he said the only two options a President has when faced with a bill is to sign or veto it, and that “we’re not going to use signing statements as a way of doing an end run around Congress.” Regardless of one’s views on signing statements or the “czar” de-funding law, then, there is simply no question that Obama is now asserting exactly the power that, when demagoguing this issue during the campaign, he insisted was illegitimate and he would not exercise. What kind of person would justify that?

Ron Bloom, former senior counselor for manufacturing, has since moved on to the Council of Economic Advisers, where he does something or another. President Obama praised Bloom in remarks April 6 at Gamesa, a wind turbine manufacturer in Pennsylvania: (continue reading…)

Searching for the word “manufacturing” in Thursday’s House floor debate on H.R. 1473, the continuing resolution, that passed by a vote of 260-167, we find first the section that eliminates funding for White House “czars.”

Sec. 2262. None of the funds made available by this division may be used to pay the salaries and expenses for the following positions:

(1) Director, White House Office of Health Reform.

(2) Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change.

(3) Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury assigned to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry and Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy.

(4) White House Director of Urban Affairs.

The Detroit Free Press observes, “In the case of the car czar — actually the senior advisor to the secretary of the Treasury assigned to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry and senior counselor for manufacturing policy — it hardly matters: Ron Bloom, who held the job, moved to the National Economic Council earlier this year, so it’s vacant.”

On another topic, Rep. Chakah Fattah (D-PA) complimented Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA), who chairs the Commerce, Science, Justice activities in the continuing resolution. From Congressinal Record, Page H2742:

Notwithstanding the very challenging fiscal circumstances, Chairman Wolf has worked towards a set of priorities that will help move our country forward, and I thank him for working with me on a bipartisan basis.

I want to point out our highest priority within that section of the Commerce Department, which is that of the Manufacturing and Extension Partnerships, which will see an increase above the 2010 enacted and also the Senate amendment, or H.R. 1. I am very pleased about that.

The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) operates out of the National Institute for Standards and Technology, working with state partnerships to provide business planning services and technical advice to small businesses. (continue reading…)

Prior to President Obama’s announcement of his new economic team members on Friday, Jan. 7, several media outlets reported the anticipated appointment of Ron Bloom to a new, elevated White House position on manufacturing, with the inevitable shorthand of “manufacturing czar” being mentioned. Since then, the speculation has subsided.

Which is all for the good. Sometimes, personnel ISN’T policy, policy is policy.

In his current capacity as Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Auto Issues and Auto Task Force senior member — “czar” would be a shorter title, wouldn’t it? — Bloom spent part of last week at the Detroit Auto Show. He submitted a post at the Treasury Department’s blog, “Reflections from the Detroit Auto Show.”

Looking at the innovations premiered at this year’s show only confirmed my belief that in the next dozen years, the automobile industry will see more change than it has in the last 50 and that that change will encompass almost every aspect of what we think of today as the car business.

We don’t immediately find the full text of Bloom’s remarks. Here’s coverage:

• Detroit Free Press, “U.S. Treasury advisor: Detroit Three recovery can happen to all U.S. manufacturing“
• Detroit News, “Bloom reflects on $85 billion bailout“
• Detroit News, “Auto czar buys a Dodge, says Steve Rattner no Clooney“
• Associated Press, “Obama official encouraged by auto recovery“

Have you read the National Association of Manufacturing’s new policy document and call to action? It’s a Manufacturing Strategy for Jobs and American Competitiveness.

Meanwhile, on the Hill there’s a hearing today on H.R. 4692, the National Manufacturing Strategy Act, sponsored by Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL); this briefing memo provides background. The NAM will have a statement and news release.

Hearings – Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection
Monday, 12 July 2010 15:52
The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing on H.R. 4692, the National Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2010, on Wednesday, July 14, 2010, in 2322 Rayburn House Office Building. Representative Lipinski introduced the bill on February 25, 2010.

INVITED WITNESSES:

•Ron Bloom, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury, Administration’s Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy
•Aneesh Chopra, Associate Director for Technology and Chief Technology Officer, Office of Science and Technology Policy
•Bill Hickey, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lapham-Hickey Steel Co.
•Scott N. Paul, Executive Director, Alliance for American Manufacturing
•Mark Gordon, Director, Defense Research Programs, National Center for Advanced Technologies
•Owen E. Herrnstadt, Director, Trade and Globalization, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
•Kevin A. Hassett, Senior Fellow and Director of Economic Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute
WHEN: 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 14

WHERE: 2322 Rayburn House Office Building

UPDATE (5 p.m.) We originally had a post here about Mike Campbell, President and CEO of Arch Chemicals and chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers’s board of directors, speaking Tuesday at the 2010 Milken Institute Global Conference, participating in a panel, “U.S. Overview: Main Street Waits for Its Rally.”

Unfortunately, Mike has had to cancel because of illness. The program and entire conference remain full of good information and policy discussions. See below…
(continue reading…)

Vice President Joe Biden today issued the first annual report of the Middle Class Task Force, reaching the pre-ordained conclusion that the middle class needs more government programs and financial support.

The task force did spend a lot of time talking about the manufacturing sector, efforts recounted starting on page 13 of the report. Two of the task force’s meetings during the year emphasized manufacturing, the first in Perrysburg, Ohio, and then a White House meeting in December.

Looking ahead, the Vice President and Task Force intend to work with the agencies and with Senior Counselor Bloom to continue to promote the Administration’s manufacturing agenda. Policies in this space may include: export promotion, transitional assistance to supply chains (especially former auto suppliers), public/private partnerships (especially in green manufacturing), and continuing to build off of the ARRA investments noted above.

There’s much to welcome there policywise, and we’re glad to see export promotion head the list.

The Middle Class Task Force report also extensively promotes “green jobs” and the “green economy.” Coincidently, The Washington Post today runs an op-ed by Sunil Sharan, an expert in the “smart grid” and other clean-energy developments. Using the example of “smart meters” — the retail, consumer portion of smart grid technology — he concludes that the technological advances probably result in net job destruction. He concludes:

For the purpose of creating jobs, then, a “clean-energy economy” will not offer a panacea. This does not necessarily mean that America should not become green to alleviate climate change, to kick its addiction to foreign oil or to use energy sources more efficiently. But those who take great pains to tout the “job-creation potential” of the green space might just end up inducing labor pains all around.

I broadly view the role of Manufacturing and Services as three-fold: to convene, to collaborate and to connect.  If confirmed, under my leadership, Manufacturing and Services will convene experts both inside and outside of the federal government to develop solutions to the issues faced by U.S. industry.  Manufacturing and Services will also collaborate with Congress, with agencies across the federal government and with state and local governments to develop solutions to sustain and increase the global competitiveness of U.S. industry.  Further, Manufacturing and Services will work to connect industry to the resources and tools available in the federal government to forge a path to sustainable, highly-skilled jobs for the 21^st century economy.

Her full prepared statement is here.

Lamb-Hale is currently Deputy General Counsel at Commerce. Before joining the Obama Administration, she was managing partner of the Detroit office of the law firm of Foley & Lardner LLP where she specialized in business restructuring.

The committee has scheduled a vote on Lamb-Hale’s nomination for Thursday.

During the Bush Administration, the assistant secretary post in Commerce was often referred to as “the manufacturing czar.” That short-cut title has now been assumed by Ron Bloom, the President’s senior advisor for manufacturing policy, a former Steelworkers official and investment banker.

Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke spoke to members of the National Association of Manufacturers this morning, a general briefing and Q&A session that lasted nearly an hour. It was helpful to hear his and the Administration’s definition of economic recovery. Secretary Locke:

Because of the aggressive actions taken by the President and the Congress, as well as the resilience of the business community, we’ve stopped the economy from sliding into a second depression.

And as you know, a number of economic indicators have turned around since this summer, due in large part to the fiscal stimulus program and the repairs the administration has made to our banking and financial system.

But, by no means do I nor does anyone else in the Administration think that we’re out of the woods yet. We’ve made strides, but unfortunately our unemployment rate is still at an unacceptably high level and will probably stay at that rate, at least through 2010 and possibly even into 2011 despite the recent 3.5 [percent] increase in our GDP growth in the 3rd quarter.

The President does not believe that there is any real recovery until unemployment figures are back down to the pre-recession level, and until that happens, all these other leading indicators, while positive, while encouraging, do not in anyway mean that the job is done.

Other tidbits:

• Locke introduced the President’s nominee to serve as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Manufacturing and Services, Nicole Lamb-Hale.
• Ron Bloom, senior counselor to the president for manufacturing policy, is “on the verge” of presenting to the president a “strategic plan for helping the manufacturing sector.”
• The Department’s advisory board, the Manufacturing Council, recently recommended three programs to free up financing for manufacturing: a government-guaranteed loan program, a government-guaranteed accounts receivable sales program, and accounts receivable insurance program.

On trade, Secretary Locke reiterated the President’s comments supporting exports and trade agreements.

The White House has now posted the statement it distributed yesterday on the appointment of Ron Bloom to be the Administration’s Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy.

And here are President Obama’s remarks at the AFL-CIO picnic in Cincinnati.

With President Obama’s naming of Ron Bloom to be the senior White House counselor for manufacturing policy, the National Association of Manufacturers has this comment:

The NAM is pleased the Obama Administration will be appointing a manufacturing advisor to serve as a part of the National Economic Council. As our nation struggles to come out of our deepest economic recession and as the world’s largest manufacturing economy, it makes sense to have a senior policy position focused on manufacturing in the White House.

According to this Bloomberg report, President Obama issued a statement Sunday:

Ron has the knowledge and experience necessary to lead the way in creating the good-paying manufacturing jobs of the future. We must do more to harness the power of American ingenuity and productivity so that we can put people back to work and unleash our full economic potential.

UPDATE (4:20 p.m.): A roundup from The Hill, “Manufacturing czar expected to have more sway than others.”